Tesla limits HW3 FSD
- Tesla told investors on April 22 that cars with its older Hardware 3 computer will not run unsupervised Full Self-Driving, ending a yearslong promise for many Model 3 and Model Y owners. - Elon Musk said Tesla will offer two paths for affected Full Self-Driving buyers: discounted trade-ins into newer AI4 cars, or hardware-and-camera retrofits handled at dedicated conversion sites. - The shift reverses Tesla’s long claim that HW3 was enough for autonomy, while keeping older cars on a supervised software track with a v14-lite update in June. (notateslaapp.com)
Tesla says its older Hardware 3 cars will not support unsupervised Full Self-Driving. Elon Musk disclosed the change on Tesla’s April 22, 2026 first-quarter earnings call. (notateslaapp.com) (usatoday.com) Hardware 3, often shortened to HW3, is the onboard computer and camera stack Tesla began shipping in 2019 for Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. Unsupervised Full Self-Driving is Tesla’s term for a version that would drive without a human actively watching the road. (usatoday.com) (teslarati.com) Musk said HW3 “simply does not have the capability” for that unsupervised version, and said memory bandwidth is the limiting factor. He said Tesla will offer discounted trade-ins for customers who bought Full Self-Driving on HW3 cars and want a newer vehicle with AI4 hardware. (teslanorth.com) (driveteslacanada.ca) Tesla also said it plans to offer hardware retrofits for some affected owners instead of forcing everyone into a replacement car. Musk described dedicated conversion facilities in major metro areas that would handle the computer-and-camera swap work at scale. (notateslaapp.com) (driveteslacanada.ca) Tesla did not announce pricing, eligibility details, or a start date for those trade-ins and retrofits on the call. USA Today reported April 24 that some owners may have to trade in their cars to reach the unsupervised version rather than wait for a full conversion path. (usatoday.com) (notateslaapp.com) Tesla separately said HW3 owners are still getting more software, even if they do not get the unsupervised stack. Autopilot chief Ashok Elluswamy said a “v14-lite” release is planned for late June with features including Start from Park. (notateslaapp.com) (elonbuzz.com) That matters because many HW3 owners bought Tesla’s Full Self-Driving package years ago on the understanding that the car’s installed hardware was enough. Tesla had previously said it would take care of customers if a hardware change became necessary. (usatoday.com) (teslarati.com) The disclosure also draws a sharper line between supervised and unsupervised driving. Tesla is still improving supervised features on older cars, but the company is now saying the robotaxi-grade version requires newer hardware. ([notateslaapp.com](https://www.notateslaapp.com/news/4034/tesla-announces-hw3
